BARBER BULLETIN
December 11-December 15
A Recap of 2017 School Year!
2017 has been full of fun and high engagement for our students!
On August 15, we welcomed all of you back with a field trip around our school zone! Remember how HOT that bus ride was; I often think about that as the cold weather has arrived and hope our kids are warm enough on those buses!
We had a PREMIER opening on August 22 thanks to all of your energy and excitement on the first day! The USC National Championship Womens Basketball team and USC cheerleaders kicked off the 2nd day of the school year with a pep rally for our AVID students. What a special event that was for our students!
ACTIONS teams and HABIT HUDDLE were two new additions to our schedule as we implemented the LEADER IN ME with fidelity this year!
Kindergarten teachers didn't let KRA ruin their year. Your Kindergarten teachers finished this state assessment BEFORE the state deadline!
Our first Skate Night was a huge success with over 100 students in attendance thanks to each of you for promoting it and skating with your students!
Pontiac started developing leaders this year.........one student at a time. We have Safety Patrol and Flag Patrol. Wake Up Wednesday coffee shop leaders love to start your day off with a hot cup of coffee and a smile! The Lost and Found Crew is making sure all items are tagged and carefully hung up on the racks. The Welcome Wagon students are a happy face to say good morning and those Pledge Leaders are prompt to the microphone for the morning pledge and moment of silence!
Making learning fun has been a priority this year for all of you and you have sought out ways to ensure high engagement from your students! Meteorologist Tim Miller helped our Lower Montessori students make connections to science standards. 4th graders performed surgery on magazines, seeking Informational Text features!
Julie Whitney helped host a new student lunch for our students that joined our school in September! In September, Montessori also made peace rocks around the Peace Labrynith on International Peace Day! And, after a selective application process, a Pontiac team was selected to attend TEACH TO LEAD in Austin, TX to engage students in Blended Learning.
The Fall Fest was yet again a huge success for our community! What good sports we have on staff to be so willing to get DUNKED or receive a PIE IN THE FACE all for the joy on the students' faces! Community outreach continued in October with HIGH FIVE FRIDAY with the RCSD. This special event always gets our students' day off to a great start! CiCi's was another wonderful family event in October! Thank you to all of you that attended!
We would be remiss if we didn't recognize DAN KOCH's special recognition! He received his BCBA certification in October - only one other individual in our district has achieved this success!
We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month in October, too, with a beautiful parade hosted by our ESOL students! Understanding Others Day helped our students to SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD. The service dog and adaptive PE were just two exciting ways our students learned about those that are different from themselves.
We can't forget to mention our visit from FRANK MARTIN, head coach of the USC Men's Basketball team! He taught a lesson to our 4th grade students!
Red Ribbon Week was a success as we helped students make connections with colleges and careers - saying YES to healthy choices leads to a lifetime of success! The Professional Parrot contest was an excellent way to teach students interview skills and our students SHINED!
One of the many highlights I love each quarter is PANCAKES WITH THE PRINCIPAL and we recognized many amazing students in November that demonstrated the habits in your classrooms!
Service learning is abundant with the Clemson/Carolina food drive, Montessori homeless beds, and The Family Shelter. Thank you for teaching students all about giving back to our community!
In November, Pontiac welcomed over 80 veterans to our school to honor and thank them for their service. It continues to be a ceremony that still brings chills to my spine - teaching a child the importance of thanking a veteran.
The ARTS DAY team hosted a BINGO night! How much fun it was! I hope you will consider joining us in February for another BINGO night!
Our STUDENT SHOWCASE, which replaced Literacy and Math Night, proved to be a fantastic turnout from our families in grades 3-5 and I can only guess that the turnout will be just as high for our K-2 families in 2018!
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR JOY FOR TEACHING WITH OUR PONTIAC STUDENTS! Our students are the best - and they have the best staff around to teach them and love them each day!
Here's to 2018 - a PREMIER year at the PREMIER school in the district! Pontiac friends, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
STUDENT SPONSORS ARE NEEDED IN THE NEW YEAR!
Our students are so excited about the leadership roles that are being offered to them this year. Those who currently hold a position take pride in their work and are eager to take on other positions. With that being said, we are in need of more sponsors and leadership opportunities.
Being a sponsor is easy and it’s very rewarding. It also does not require an enormous amount of extra work. The guidelines for sponsoring a leadership job are:
- Create a job posting for the leadership board
- Accept or decline students and notify them about their position using the provided letters
- Train students on what they need to do and get them prepared to complete the job on their own
- Check in with students every now and then to see how things are going
These jobs can be year long, semester long or even one-and-done positions.
Here are a few leadership jobs ideas that might be of interest to you:
- Litter Patrol- Students will pick up litter around the building and on school grounds
- Plant Water- Students will water the plants in a he building as well as all outdoor potted plant plants
- Courtyard Keeper- Students will keep up with the plants in the courtyard and in the garden outside of the cafeteria
- Bathroom Decorator- Design posters, wall art, etc to display in the student bathrooms
- Music Leaders- Students will organize movements to a new 7 Habit song & then help classes learn the new choreography. (will require more supervision)
- Library Leaders- Help school librarians with tasks in the media center during their recess times or before school
- Peer Tutors (During AM Homework Club)- students will tutor younger students
- Event Specific Leadership Roles
Let Lindsey Perez or any of the other staff members on the Student Sponsor Team know if you are interested or need help getting started as a sponsor.
WEATHER REMINDER FROM THE DISTRICT
With the potential for cold weather in the coming months, Dawn MacAdams asked the district to share the district's Weather Guidelines for Outside Activities. The guidelines went through the Superintendent's Health Advisory Council in the Spring.
Healthy Learners
Did you know that Healthy Learners could assist your students in accessing dental, vision and medical services?
Healthy Learners is a non-profit organization that partners with school nurses and local medical providers to offer access to health care to eligible children. Costs for health care services, transportation and follow-up are paid for by Healthy Learners.
We serve children who are in need and without resources. This means children who need assistance in accessing appropriate basic health care. Through screenings and teacher referrals, school nurses identify, determine eligibility, and refer students in need of medical care for basic health needs. Most students who qualify for Healthy Learners services also qualify for the free or reduced lunch program.
ANY TEACHER OR OTHER SCHOOL PERSONNEL CAN MAKE A REFERRAL TO THEIR SCHOOL NURSE for students who they feel may benefit from the services listed above. All referrals to Healthy Learners are facilitated directly by the school nurse.
Once a referral has been made, the school nurse determines eligibility and contacts the child’s parent/guardian to fill out Healthy Learners consent forms and a health history. After parental permission is obtained, the Healthy Learners staff schedules an appointment for the student from a network of dedicated health care providers. With parental permission, Healthy Learners can also provide transportation to the scheduled appointment from school for the student if needed.
Any fees associated with the health service provided are paid for by Healthy Learners!
Please ask your Nurse Larck for more information!
A LOOK AT OUR LAST WEEK BEFORE WINTER BREAK:
Chorus rehearsal at auditorium
7pm Chorus performance at RNE Auditorium (all certified staff, please attend)
Tuesday:
7:30am Coffee and Conversation
Vendor Fair (hosted by Community Action Team) in Extra PE room:Shop during planning
Anticipate emergency drill
5:30pm Montessori Cookie Exchange for families
Wednesday:
Dental van on campus
3:30pm AVID site team meeting
Thursday:
School Chorus performance (schedule coming soon!)
6:30pm Staff Holiday Party off campus
Friday:
10:05am Montessori Community mtg
Polar Express will begin on VBRICK at 12:30pm
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Certified Staff return on January 2!
Students and Support Staff return on January 3!